Bart Bass: Monster-in-Law
by LunaSeasMoonChild
Summary: [O/S, AU-ish] Blair always thought mothers would be the monsters-in-law. She always thought her husband would be the one with the in-law problem. As if it wasn't enough that she never thought she'd have Bart Bass as her father-in-law, she also never expected she'd be clashing heads with him.


_**Author's notes:**_ I've read CB fics where Bart absolutely loves Blair, so I thought it would be interesting to see them be against each other instead. ^O^ I saw this gif post in tumblr of Blair and Bart in 6.01, and I thought Bart rolling his eyes at Blair was hilarious, which inspired this fic idea, along with the 5th ep of "The New Normal". HahaXD

Anyway, for the sake of this fic, let's all stop for a moment to keep in mind that Bart is not this jerk and horrible father to Chuck as he seems to be this season. Let's just say, things have been better than before between Chuck and Bart since S05 finale. Oh, and that SereNate ended up together. ^0^

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Yuletide in the Bass household meant that Blair was busy with the holiday get-together of their family. Held every year for their nearest and dearest, a handful of people that she and Chuck considered family, which seems to be promising to expand as the years come.

The first addition was little Henry Bass, Chuck and Blair's first child. Now, Nate and Serena were expecting their first baby, along with Blair and Chuck going for their second child. By next Christmas, there would be two more additions to their holiday family gatherings.

But for now, no one still knew about Blair's pregnancy except for Chuck. They had only recently found out, and they wanted to break the happy news to their families this coming New Year celebration, when both Chuck's and Blair's side of the family would be gathered at their townhouse to welcome the next year that would see another Bass into the world.

But before the New Year's gathering, Chuck and Blair had planned their yuletide celebration by spending Christmas Eve with the van der Basses (including Nate) and Christmas with Blair's parents along with their respective husbands (including Dorota and her family).

Blair took note of the guest list again, making sure that everyone noted on it had confirmed.

_Daddy + Roman_. Both check.

_Eleanor + Cyrus._ Both check.

_Serena + Nate. _Both check.

_Dorota + family_. All check.

_Eric._ Check

_Lily + Bart._ Both check

Blair couldn't help but scrunch up her face when she realized once again that she was going to have to tolerate Bart Bass' presence much longer than typical during the holidays. Ugh. It was bad enough when they were within each other's sights for a few minutes. This was a big blot on her wonderful life, because Chuck and Bart had never had a better father-son relationship ever since Bart came back from his fake death. The bad blood between Blair and Bart weren't straining her marriage with Chuck, but family gatherings (life too, in general) could be a lot smoother if they just got along together.

Back when she and Chuck were dating in her freshman year, Blair always thought that Chuck would be the one at odds with her parents. But on the contrary, her parents _loved_ Chuck. Eleanor always asked Blair about Chuck just as soon as the mother-daughter perfunctory greeting and kiss on the cheek was all done. Sometimes, it made her pout internally that her mother was looking forward to seeing Chuck more than her own daughter. Her father and Cyrus always looked forward to discussing the stock market, business, and even politics, with Chuck. Roman preferred to talk about fashion with Chuck, from clothes to shoes to men's accessories.

But Blair and Bart?

They could hardly stand each other.

Not that Blair didn't try to get on the man's good graces before. Oh, did she try. She did everything to win Bart's favor, even before she and Chuck got married. But Bart shot down her efforts. He had made it pretty clear to her that he would not be bought to her side by any amount of flattery or nicety on her part.

Blair had been in the van der Bass penthouse visiting Lily since they were organizing a BI gala. Bart was sitting next to Lily as they discussed, but Lily had to step out for a bit due to an important phone call. Blair tried to initiate some friendly conversation with Bart, but then his ice-blue eyes suddenly narrowed as he regarded his only son's girlfriend in front of him.

"Let's get one thing straight, Blair," Bart started, cutting her off coldly, "I don't approve of you."

Blair almost choked form her own throat. She had always had that strange inkling that Bart was keeping her at a distance, but she had refused to believe it. No parent could resist Blair Waldorf; she was a dream daughter-in-law with her pedigree and personality. Blair had been confident that no parent could resist her charm.

Well, she was just proven wrong.

Bart leaned back in the sofa, his aura intimidating. "Frankly, I don't like how you've strung my son along all this time, and I don't like the fact that he had to pay an absurd amount of money to get you out of _your _marriage, which was solely _your_ _mistake, _like he was paying his own goddamned alimony. He had nothing to do with it, he had no obligation to it, yet he spent more for you than any investment he's ever made. Let's not even get into your… _shameless phase_ after the wedding and the divorce."

So much for Blair trying to win brownie points from a casual conversation. It was like opening the cookie jar only to find that it was a can of worms.

Bart's torso lurched forward. "_I_ _don't like you_, Blair. At first, back when Charles was still in high school, I thought you were good for my son, that you'd be the one to _make_ him a man. But from what I've seen, he became a man _without_ you. Frankly, I would have preferred it that way." Bart's poise took ease as he once again leaned his back on the sofa. "Just because my son has chosen to be with you, doesn't mean I have to actually _like_ you. And it won't be changing anytime soon. So if I were you, I'd do away with the pleasantries. It comes off insincere coming from you, and too self-serving. I don't quite like them, and I can't be swayed by them. Am I understood, Blair?"

Blair just sat there shocked, wide-eyed and mouth hanging open, as she processed Bart's declaration. The enormity of Bart's disapproval hit her square in the face and rubbed it in like a pretty damn harsh reality check. She could only sputter a mere "okay" at Bart's tirade. Lily saved the awkwardness by coming back and resuming their previous discussion, never gaining awareness that something had gone down while she was away.

Damn, can that man hold a grudge, and he made it apparent to Blair that he wasn't going to let up any time soon. Chuck may have forgiven, but his father certainly hasn't forgotten.

Frankly, Blair didn't know whether to coo at Bart's protectiveness of his son, or to boo at his apparent dislike for her.

Blair had more than once gone to Chuck to complain about Bart, but Chuck could do nothing. He had tried mediating between Blair and Bart, but both were so stubborn in their stance, it was absolutely useless for Chuck to try to reconcile the two when they had no plans to do so.

"I'm stepping back from this, Blair. I've tried, but both of you are so stubborn, nothing's going to change unless one or both of you budge," Chuck had told her, and he had a point. It was useless for him to act as a bridge for two people if said people weren't willing to cross it and make peace.

Not that Chuck didn't attempt to reconcile his wife and his father from time to time when he saw an opportunity, but they were futile, and not by lack of trying on Chuck's part. No, this was all on Blair and Bart and their standing passive-aggressive hostility. They were as immovable as mountains in maintaining their feud.

Christmas Eve finally came, which meant that Blair's in-laws were coming over. When Blair got up that morning, she was determined that she was _not_ going to let this grudge be the Grinch of the holidays. She was going to bear with Bart's disapproval more than ever to make sure that everything goes on without a hitch.

Blair checked the caterers stationed at the kitchen and checked the dining room to make sure that everything was all set before she left to go upstairs and check on her boys. Sure enough, Chuck was with Henry in the master's bedroom, helping their four-year-old son fix his mini bow tie.

"Hello, my loves," Blair greeted, the sight of father and son instantly warming her heart and lifting her spirits. She approached them as they stood in front of the mirror, Henry standing on a chair with Chuck behind him. Henry was still focused on his reflection, his little fingers tugging and trying to fix his bow tie, which he had done himself with his father's tutelage. Chuck, meanwhile, turned his head to his wife and welcomed a peck on the lips while still maintaining his hold on Henry's waist.

"Well, aren't you a handsome little boy!" Blair beamed as she took in Henry in his mini suit. Her baby boy was just too adorable for his own good more often than not that she just wanted to squeeze him in a tight hug from time to time. "You look just like your daddy!"

"Mommy, no!" Henry protested as Blair raked her fingers through his hair. "My hair!"

Blair just rolled her eyes, though her lips never lost the smile. Their little boy was becoming quite conscious of his good looks, a blessing he inherited from both his parents. Recently, Henry had become protective of his hair, not allowing anyone to touch his hair to protect its pristine state of being combed to perfection. He flattened the top of his hair with his hand before turning to his mother. "How do I look now, Mommy?"

Blair bent down and cupped her son's chin. "As dashing as your father,"

Henry beamed; being compared to his father was the highest of compliments for him. Now satisfied with his attire, Henry dashed out of his parents' room while crying out behind him, "I'm going to wait for my presents downstairs!"

Chuck only chuckled as he came to stand behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. "Now why am I not surprised that he's looking forward to the gifts he's going to get rather than the guests?"

In response, Blair laid her hands on top of her husband's. Chuck could not see her roll her eyes, but he knew she did. "Oh fine. I won't deny that he got it from me."

Chuck suppressed his victorious snicker by pressing his lips on his wife's neck, letting her feel his smile on her skin as if he were branding it upon her.

What started out innocent enough, quickly escalated to something more. When Chuck continued to kiss up to her earlobe and lightly biting it while his hands had crept up Blair's front to cup her breasts, she knew this was going to lead to the bed.

Blair's eyes fluttered closed as she let out a purr. "As much as I would love to, we can't engage in such activities right now, unfortunately. Our guests will be arriving at any moment."

"How about," Chuck continued to leave a trial of kisses along his wife's neck, "we make the most out of this time while they're still not here?"

Blair was about to give in when Henry's boisterous voice rang out from downstairs, announcing the arrival of their guests. She just sighed as they both unwillingly pulled away.

"You better get dressed." Blair firmly instructed her husband, though her tone held a hint of yearning. Chuck knew better than to tempt her otherwise, so he just gave her one last quick kiss before heading to his own side of the room to tie his bow tie. Meanwhile, Blair sat in front of her vanity mirror and started to put on the jewelry that she had chosen to wear for tonight, the pieces already laid out on her table. Afterwards, she turned to see Chuck putting on his suit jacket.

Donning his signature smirk, Chuck held out his arm to her. "Ready, Mrs. Bass?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, Mr. Bass," Blair replied with a graceful smile. She linked her arm with his, and they both made their way down the staircase to the foyer, where Henry was happily chattering away his paternal grandparents while he was cradled in his grandmother's arms, his grandfather smiling softly at the toddler. As soon as Chuck and Blair appeared in the foyer, Lily put down Henry to greet her adoptive son and her daughter-in-law.

"Lily, Bart. How nice to see you," Blair greeted her in-laws with a smile as she approached Lily for a hug. Blair saw Bart roll his eyes in annoyance as he stood behind his wife. Blair tried hard to ignore that (she knew Chuck had given his father a warning look) and still keep the grin on her lips as the two women exchanged the perfunctory kisses on the cheek while the men shook hands, Bart clapping his son on the shoulder.

Blair and Bart did not acknowledge each other's presence.

"Serena and Eric are on their way with Nate," Lily spoke as she stepped back to Bart's side and slipped her hand through his arm. "They're going to be running a late, God knows why, so Bart and I decided to head here on our own."

"It's no problem at all as long as they make it in time for dinner," Chuck replied as he wrapped his arm around his wife's waist.

"Besides, you arrived quite early, so I hope you don't have a problem with waiting for them," Blair interjected while holding onto Henry's shoulder as his little hands gripped her fingers. Henry swayed a bit from side to side, waiting for the grown-up talk to finish so he could finally chatter away again. When he saw his cue, he darted forward to his grandfather.

"Grandpa, grandpa," Henry tugged on Bart's pant leg to get his attention, which made the elder Bass look down to regard his grandson.

"Yes, Henry?"

"I wanna play squash again with you and Daddy."

"I'd like that," Bart chuckled. Only Henry could elicit that from him, enamored as he was by his grandson. Bart clasped his hands behind his back as he bent his upper body down, a way of leveling himself to Henry. "I was thinking of a Bass boys' day out some time, how do you like that, Henry?"

Blair resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The Bass Boys' Day Out was a tradition that Bart had come up with. Frankly, it made her feel like it was a way for Bart to isolate her or keep her away while he got to spend quality time with his son and grandchild. To make her seem like an outsider.

Meanwhile, Henry let out a woop of joy, declaring that he would beat both his father and grandfather in playing squash, the boy's competitive streak (he gets that from his mother, no doubt, Chuck would say) already manifesting.

"Blair," Lily hooked her arm through her daughter-in-law's elbow, steering her away from the men. "As you know, I'm handling several major events for the next year and I was thinking of wearing Waldorf designs…"

"Of course, Lily! I'd love to make custom-made Waldorf gowns for you. It'll be great publicity for the line next year."

"That's what I was thinking as well. Do you think we can discuss this a bit before dinner?"

"We can talk in my office until the three arrive." Blair led Lily to her home office, leaving the Bass boys conversing about possible activities for their day out.

Blair let out a sketchpad of designs that had not yet been produced and released, letting her mother-in-law peruse it and choose what she liked, if she found some. Blair asked specifics about the events so she would have an idea on how to appropriately design the dresses that Lily commissioned. However, Lily's cell phone rang, interrupting their discussion.

"I hope you don't mind, Blair, but I have to pick up this jewelry piece I commissioned a few days ago. It's my gift for Serena, and the manager from Cartier said they just had it delivered to the Palace. I need to go over there to pick it up."

"But, Serena, Nate and Eric might be arriving anytime soon—"

"Darling, I won't take long, I promise I'll be back soon," Lily reassured as she gave Blair a kiss on both cheeks. "Would you mind telling Bart about this? Thank you, Blair."

Lily flew out of the room, texting their driver to get the town limo started.

Blair sighed. "I actually mind…" she said to no one in particular, before trudging out of the office to look for her father-in-law. Dreading to start a conversation with Bart, Blair thought about going to see Chuck and telling him about Lily's situation, thereby letting Chuck inform Bart, but she decided against it. If she was going to learn how to get along with her father-in-law, she had to start now. She hoped that having Chuck and Henry around while she talked to Blair would help to ease her reluctance of talking to Bart.

Unbeknownst to Blair, Henry needed to pee and Chuck had taken him to the bathroom just a few seconds after Blair left her office.

Blair entered the living room to see Bart, nursing a scotch, standing in front of the fireplace, staring at the three red socks hanging on the mantel.

She fixed as best a smile as she could manage on her face as she steeled herself and approached her father-in-law, who was still unaware of her presence. "Bart, there you are," She took on a pleasant tone, hoping it sounded sincere and not forced as she came to stand in front of the older Bass. "Lily sent me to tell you that she just went out for a while to fetch something from the Palace at the last minute. I think Lily has something big for Serena this Christmas since she and Nate are getting married next year after the baby's born."

Lips pursed and an eyebrow raised, Bart just stared at her, unamused by his daughter-in-law's attempts at casual conversation, wearing that inscrutably judgmental look on his face that Chuck had been familiar with during his teen years. That was Bart's indomitable expression that clearly conveyed that he was looking down on whoever was in front of him. Truthfully, it unnerved Blair to be on the receiving end of it, another reason why she always avoided her father-in-law.

Blair turned around to leave before the discomfort could sour the Christmas mood, but she stopped in her tracks when her hearing caught the slight scoff, and she knew she wouldn't take it anymore.

Blair turned back to her disapproving father-in-law, gathering all her guts in her impromptu confrontation at the most inopportune and inappropriate time as Blair's sense of propriety flew out the window. "You know what?" She turned around to face her father-in-law instead of trying to avoid him. "I'm not going to let this carry out _any longer_."

Bart raised a disapproving eyebrow at her, but Blair did not let that faze her.

She raised her hands up and brought it down with a loud sigh. "I've had enough of this. Chuck's had enough of this. This can't go on any more. Chuck and I are having another baby, and Henry will one day be old enough to notice that his mother and his grandfather don't get along."

Bart did not interrupt, although his icy expression still hadn't ceased.

"I know I've made mistakes," Blair started. "I don't deny that. Chuck knows that too. But he's forgiven me just as I've forgiven him for all the wrong that he's done to me. Can't you forgive me too? I've done my penance."

The silence from Bart just made Blair carry on longer. "I know I've messed up in the past, but I've learned from my mistakes, and we're here now. Chuck and I are stronger and happier than we've ever been."

With her father-in-law still stoic, Blair became more determined to elicit a reaction from him. "I mean, you should know about second chances. Why can't you give me that? I'm no longer the person who sets out to hurt Chuck. I'm not that flighty girl running away from him anymore because I'm too scared to face him and my own heart."

At last, a minute change occurred. Bart stared at Blair with softened eyes. But by no means had his stern expression eased up. Blair waited for him to say something, anything, but before he could do so, Henry burst into the room, the tension between his grandfather and his mother going unnoticed over his head.

"Mommy, Aunt Serena and Uncle Nate and Uncle Eric are here!" Henry took his mother's hand and tugged on her to get her moving. Blair tentatively let herself be led away, but she had a sudden realization, so she halted and turned back to Bart, trying to seem nonchalant, though she could feel high levels of awkwardness in the air. "If you could just keep the secret announcement I accidentally blurted out as secret until New Year's Day, Chuck and I would really appreciate it." With that said, Blair did not look back to see her father-in-law's reaction before she let her son take her to her husband.

As soon as Blair and Henry was out the living room and turned the corner, she let out a deep breath. She thought she'd break the ice of their feud with her little impromptu outburst, but it didn't seem to even crack Bart's wall. She decided she would tell Chuck about this encounter with Bart after the dinner. She knew Chuck would speak to Bart about this, and she didn't want things to be tense around the dinner table if the father-son talk didn't go well. Blair was a touchy subject for Chuck and Bart, only because one loved her so much and the other very much objected that, and much like Blair and Bart on their feud, Chuck and Bart could never meet in the middle when it came to Blair.

Blair held her composure throughout the evening, acting unphased and playing the gracious host. Serena and Nate arrived right after the confrontation and Lily made it on time, so dinner was started. She and Bart never exchanged words over the dinner table, but easy and warm conversation was flowing. Chuck did sense that Blair had something on her mind though. He asked her about it, placing a hand on her thigh and then leaning close to her ear to ask her if she was feeling alright. Loving how attuned he was to her and his show of concern, Blair gave him a small smile and daintily kissed him in the cheek for reassurance, telling him in a low whisper that she'd tell him later, after dinner. Chuck nodded, letting the matter rest until the time came when Blair was ready to discuss it.

After dinner was Henry's favorite part of the evening: opening presents. Little Henry was ecstatic from receiving numerous presents from his grandparents, uncles, and aunt. Chuck proudly announced (as he did every year) just how much Henry had inherited his mother's fervor for gifts with the way he went through tearing the wrapper to excitedly exclaiming his love for each given item.

While Henry was preoccupied with unwrapping all his presents, the adults exchanged their gifts for each other. Chuck and Blair always got a joint gift from Bart and Lily, and vice versa. Chuck and Blair gave separate gifts to the blonde half of the NJBC, just as Serena and Nate never gave their married bestfriends a couple's gift, preferring to present each one with their own. Eric also had an abundance of presents, but not as much as Henry, who got twice as much as everyone, since his grandparents and godparents always thought of buying him more than one for each occasion that called for gifts.

When the initial delight of gift giving had dwindled and Henry's energy level was boiling down for bedtime, everyone was ready to call it a night and be on their way to settle down in their respective abodes to further celebrate Christmas.

Blair, Chuck and Henry were now seeing off the last of their guests. Serena and Nate had taken off earlier for a Christmas party thrown by the gay director of Serena's latest movie project, who was also quickly becoming the blonde's BFF besides Blair. Eric had planned to meet up with his latest flame tonight, so he went with his sister upon leaving.

"Well," Lily let out a contented sigh. "I believe it's time Bart and I head on home." Lily and Bart then stood up from their seats on the couch. Chuck and Blair also rose, with Chuck carrying Henry on his hip as they followed Bart and Lily to the foyer. When they had gotten their coats on, they then proceeded to say their farewells. Blair and Lily exchanged hugs and kisses on both cheeks, while Bart ruffled Henry's hair and gave a strong and friendly pat on Chuck's shoulder. Lily approached her husband to stand by his side, with Blair following suit and taking her place beside Chuck.

"We'll see you on New Year's Eve. My parents will be here as well," Blair reminded her in-laws.

"Of course, we wouldn't miss a family gathering," Lily replied as she pushed the elevator button. "Merry Christmas again, everyone."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Lily," Blair gave a smile and then hesitantly turned to her father-in-law. "Bart."

Blair expected a scoff or perhaps a dismissive nod, but everyone (with the exception of Henry, who was tiredly lying his head on his father's shoulder) was taken aback when Bart stepped forward and embraced his daughter-in-law. Lily's eyes widened while Chuck raised his eyebrows at the gesture of affection that his father never bestowed on Blair. For a moment, Blair froze out of uncertainty and shock, but eventually, she wrapped her arms around her father-in-law, reciprocating his act of waving the white flag, so to say. Blair felt at ease in Bart's embrace, and she knew that she had been forgiven, or at least on the way.

Finally Bart pulled away, and holding Blair at arm's length he gave her a small smile. "Merry Christmas."

Blair regained her voice, though she could not hide the credulity in her tone. "Merry Christmas."

Bart stepped back and Lily, now sporting a wide smile, linked her arm with her husband. Bart also gave a nod to his son, who was softly smiling, knowing the unspoken message being sent his way, and Chuck replied with a nod to his father as well, which was a subtle salute to his father's apparent change of heart. Just then, the elevator doors opened and Lily and Bart walked into it, both ready to head on home.

"Byebye, Grandma, Grandpa!" Henry waved his hand to his grandparents as the elevator doors were closing. Before the metal sliding doors shut, Bart caught Blair's eyes and gave her a nod with a slight, low-key smile that would've been missed by most people except Chuck and Blair.

With the grandparents gone, Henry took off upstairs to his room to play or draw more buildings. Chuck and Blair, however, were both still glued to their spot in front of the elevator.

Chuck's eyes were still wide when Blair finally turned to him. He slowly shrugged his shoulders at her, "It's a Christmas miracle," he breathed out with a smile.

Blair let out a delighted laugh as she stepped into Chuck's arms and kissed him fully on the lips.

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_**A/n:**_ Consider this fic my Happy Holidays greetings to all Chairleaders (even though it's late ~_~;)! This Christmas was made awesome coz our ship is ENDGAME! I could not ask for a better present. XD XD XD XD XD No bitter fandom is going to bring my festive mood down. I keep watching the 5-yr flashforward, and I still get the feels from it, so much so that I need to curl up and bawl at the endgame happiness of CB. So much drama only to end with so much happiness. Seriously, I haven't rewatched an ep over and over like this since the 1st half of S03.

Just keep in mind, no matter how many people **cough*bitterDairfans*cough** are clawing like zombies at a ship, they can't sink it. There is no muthaeffing iceberg anymore to attempt to sink our ship sailing into the horizon. NyahahahahaXP Booyakahbooyakah! XD XD XD


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